You Meat Eaters Are Killing Us!

You meat eaters are killing this planet, and I hope you are all proud of yourselves.

At least that is what our nation’s top nutritional panel is saying.

According to the Washington Post, “The nation’s top nutritional panel is recommending for the first time that Americans consider the impact on the environment when they are choosing what to eat, a move that defied a warning from Congress and, if enacted, could discourage people from eating red meat.”

Apparently, members of Congress tried last year to keep the nutritional panel from discussing the issue. Basically, they told the nutritional panel that advising the government on federal dietary guidelines is their job and the nutritional panel should steer clear of extraneous issues and stick to nutritional advice.

What a novel thought. A nutritional panel should just stick to what they say they do best and not political issues.

According to the Washington Post article, “the panel’s findings, issued Thursday in the form of a 571-page report, recommended that Americans be kinder to the environment by eating more foods derived from plants and fewer foods that come from animals. Red meat is deemed particularly harmful because of, among other things, the amount of land and feed required in its production.”

“Consistent evidence indicates that, in general, a dietary pattern that is higher in plant-based foods, such as vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, nuts, and seeds, and lower in animal-based foods is more health promoting and is associated with lesser environmental impact than is the current average U.S. diet,” the report says.

Apparently “many scientists say animal-based foods are a poorer choice for the environment because they are associated with significantly larger carbon emissions than their plant-based counterparts. Animals generate a lot of methane, and the production of meat products requires large amounts of feed, fertilizer and fuel, all of which put stress on the environment," the Washington Post said.

Do you have the naive notion that a nutritional panel should stick to nutritional advice and not also get into political issues?

Should we red-meat-eating Americans be more conscious when choosing to eat that dreaded red or the other white meat?

Maybe we should eat more meat in order to kill more of these animals to cut down on the methane that is killing mother earth?

What are your thoughts?

Let’s discuss this today on my show the Live with Renk show, which airs Monday through Friday 9 a.m. to noon, to let me know your thoughts at (269) 441-9595.

Or please feel free to start a discussion and write your thoughts in the comment section.